The present invention pertains to systems for transmitting voice and data over a T1 line or E1 line. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for automatically determining and provisioning the allocation of voice and data channels, or xe2x80x9cDS0sxe2x80x9d, on a T1 line or E1 Line.
T1 is a technology which allows the transmission of high-speed digital data on a network. T1 lines are a popular leased line option for businesses connecting to the Internet and for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) connecting to the Internet backbone. The standard T1 data rate is 1.544 Mbps. T1 lines are capable of carrying both voice data and non-voice data. Commonly, a T1 line is used to connect Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) to a network carrier Central Office (CO), which in turn has a connection to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the Internet, or both.
CPE products are available which are capable of integrating voice data and non-voice data for transmission onto a single T1 line. One such device is the T1 Integrator(trademark), available from VINA Technologies of Fremont, Calif. One problem with some such CPE products is that they must be preconfigured in a staging area prior to deployment at a customer site. This configuration process includes configuring the device for the proper allocation of T1 channels, referred to as xe2x80x9cDS0sxe2x80x9d, between voice and data. This configuration process can be difficult, time-consuming, and inconvenient.
An apparatus for transmitting integrated voice data and non-voice data over a T1 line on a network includes a voice input interface, a network interface, a processing unit, and a T1 interface. The voice input interface is configured to input the voice data, and the network interface is configured to input the non-voice data. The processing unit is configured to automatically identify the allocation of time slots of the T1 line between voice data and non-voice data. The T1 interface is configured to time-division multiplex the voice data and the non-voice data and to transmit the time-division multiplexed voice data and non-voice data onto the T1 line according to the identified allocation of the time slots.